Why Amazon Freevee is shutting down and best alternatives

The news that Amazon Freevee was shutting down in November 2024 shocked many users of the free streaming service. The free ad-supported streaming service has been a staple entertainment source for millions, but that will be no more. 

While the news of Freevee shutting down is shocking, it is not surprising. There were rumours of Freevee’s shutdown last year after Amazon added a low-cost tier to its Prime Video service, though the streaming company initially denied this. 

So, why has Amazon decided to phase out the free streaming service? And what will happen to users?

Below is everything you need to know about the Amazon Freevee shutdown, from the reasons to the top alternatives for the streaming service. 

A brief history of Amazon Freevee

Amazon Freevee was launched as IMDb (Amazon-owned online database) in 2019, then known as IMDb Freedive. Later that year, it was rebranded into IMDb TV before changing its name to Amazon Freevee in 2022. 

Since its launch, Amazon Freevee has been a free ad-supported streaming service offering a wide range of digital content, from classic movies and TV shows to Freevee originals, Prime Video originals, and more. 

Why is Amazon Freevee shutting down? 

Amazon Freevee is shutting down to streamline and simplify its streaming service. 

For years, Amazon operated two streaming services, Amazon Prime Video and Freevee. It made sense to operate both separately, as Freevee was a free ad-supported service while Prime Video was a premium ad-free service. 

However, last year, Amazon introduced a low-cost ad-supported tier meant that Amazon now had two ad-supported streaming platforms operating separately, which made no sense. 

In announcing the decision to phase out the Freevee platform, Amazon said it wanted to offer a simpler streaming experience to its users. 

“To deliver a simpler viewing experience for customers, we have decided to phase out Freevee branding.”

What’s next for Amazon Freevee users? 

Amazon Freevee fans will be pleased to know they can still enjoy free Amazon content, even after the Freevee shutdown. 

That’s because Amazon has integrated the Freevee brand with Amazon Prime Video, thus allowing users to enjoy all content on one platform. 

While Prime Video was previously a subscription-based service, it will now feature free ad-supported content. The entire Freevee library has been shifted to the platform, as reported by the Economic Times. 

“We have built Prime Video into a first-stop entertainment destination where customers can personalize their viewing experience by streaming exclusive Prime member content, licensed movies, series, live sports, and free, ad-supported streaming TV channels, along with the complete Freevee content offering.” 

Top alternatives for Amazon Freevee

The shutdown of Amazon Freevee will be a huge disappointment if you are a fan of the platform’s free content. However, several other alternatives exist where you can still enjoy free entertainment content. 

Below is a look at these platforms: 

1. Amazon Prime Video 

As already stated, after phasing out Freevee, Amazon integrated it with Prime Video. Therefore, this makes it the perfect alternative for Amazon Freevee. 

The Freevee library is available on the Amazon Prime library, where you can watch it for free without subscribing to Prime Video. 

In addition, if you want more content, you can buy and rent TV show episodes and movies or subscribe to one of the Prime Video premium plans. 

2. Tubi 

Tubi is another free ad-supported streaming platform that is a perfect alternative to Amazon Freevee.

It has a massive library, with over 275,000 digital titles of movies and TV shows, with a wide variety of content genres, from action to horror, Sci-Fi, comedy, classics, and more. 

In addition to its massive library, Tubi offers over 260 live TV channels, which deliver a variety of content, from movies and TV shows to live sports, news, and more. 

The best part about Tubi is that you don’t have to register for an account; simply access the platform on your device and start streaming free without any hassles. 

3. Pluto TV

Pluto TV is another free ad-supported streaming service to check out if you want an alternative to Amazon Freevee. It has a vast library with thousands of on-demand movies and TV shows in several genres, including action, comedy, romance, thrillers, classics, and more. 

Pluto TV also has over 250 live TV channels that offer a diverse range of content, from movies to TV shows, reality TV content, sports, kids’ content, and more. 

Like Tubi, you don’t need to register for an account to enjoy the free Pluto TV content. Simply access the platform from any supported device and start streaming immediately. 

4. Fandango at Home

Fandango at Home (formerly Vudu) is another streaming platform that is an excellent alternative to Freevee. 

It has a premium tier, where you can subscribe to a monthly plan and buy or rent movies and TV shows. However, it offers a “watch for free” ad-supported section (like the revamped Amazon Prime Video) where you can enjoy many movies and TV shows for free. 

The one downside of the free section of Fandango at Home is that the content is not that recent. However, it has a vast collection of free movies and TV shows (with thousands of titles), which makes up for the slightly outdated content. 

5. FilmRise 

FilmRise is an American-based film and TV studio that operates a free ad-supported streaming service. The streaming platform offers over 50,000 free movies and TV show titles, making it an excellent alternative to Amazon Freevee.

FilmRise is especially famous for its large collection of classic TV shows, true crime content, and feature films. However, it has a diverse library with several genres, including action, drama, comedy, horror, romance, and more. 

Besides operating its streaming platform, FilmRise also distributes its content to third-party platforms like Roku, Pluto TV, Tubi, Amazon Freevee (now Prime Video), Samsung TV Plus, and many others. 

6. Fawesome TV 

Fawesome is another free streaming platform (a little bit like FilmRise) that is an excellent alternative to Freevee. Its vast library has over 170,000 digital copies of movies and TV show episodes. 

The platform offers diverse content in several genres, like action, comedy, true crime, drama, classics, romance, and more. It also has an excellent collection of original movies and TV shows. 

Like FilmRise, Fawesome’s content is available on several third-party platforms, including Roku, Vizio, Amazon Fire TV, and more. 

7. Roku

Roku is another top streaming platform for free entertainment content. The platform offers several channels, starting with The Roku Channel, where you can enjoy movies, TV shows, live sports, news, reality content, and more. 

Other Roku channels that offer free streaming content include: